The Sun. — London, England, 1864-02-27 00:00:00

nurillAL PARLTAIVT-FINT HOW 3E OF LORDS—Last Evening, The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at sve o'clock, PRIVATE BUSINESS. The. following bills were read a second time :--Much Wen . lock and Severn Junction and Wenlock Railway Cora pan',ea Amalgamation—and Brenbridge Railway Tramway and Pier. THE WAR IN DENMARK. The Earl of MALMESBURY, seeing the noble earl the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in his place, begged to ask him whether he had received any information touch ing a declaration that haol been published at Berlin with respect to Denmark. The noble earl then referred to a statement on the subject, which appeared in the :Morning Post of that day. Earl RUSSELL said ho was sorry the noble earl ha I not given him notice of his intention, as it would have enabled him to answer him more correctly. What was stated was, that the Commander-in-Chief of the Army had no orders to send troops to Duppel, and it was not his intention to do so ; that afterwards, when the Danish troops were on the frontier they took up a position on their front, and the Prussians thought they were then justified in crossing and occupying the fort. No order had been given them to enter Jutland, and the conduct of the officer who had ordered the troops to do so had not been approved. With regard to that part of the noble earl's question, based upon the report in that morning's paper, what he understood the Prime Minister to say was, the intention of the German powers was to make the war local in order to obtain what was called a material guarantee, but the Danish Government in giving orders for the seizure of Prussian and German ships had made the war general, and that if those ships were seized, the Prussian Govern ment must demand compensation, net for the general ex penses of the war, but for the value of the cargoes of those ships, and retain the material " guarantee" until the claim was satisfied. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGII asked if there had been any communication from Austria, or whether the matter was purely Prussian ? Earl RUSSELL said it was entirely from Prussia. He had not founded his remarks on anything like a despatch, but was simply gathered from a conversation with a Prus sian Minister. He had reason to believe that the Austrian Government would endeavour to moderate the action of their Generals. THE CRAWLEY COURT MARTIAL. Lord COLVILLE of CULROSS asked a question with respect to the conduct of the Deputy Judge Advocate in the Crawley court martial. That officer had first drawn up the charges against the prisoner; he had then during the trial taken his seat with, and had assisted, the oNcial pro secutor ; and, lastly, he had acted as the adviser of the court. He might be told that there was precedent for that combi nation of function; but, if that was the case, the sooner a change was made the better. He thought that. the mode in which the prosecution was conducted was censurable, espe cially in regard to the course taken in the reply of the official prosecutor, which raised a case quite different from that which he had opened. He wished to ask whether it was by the authority of the War Office or by the direction of the Judge Advocate General that the Deputy Judge Advocate acted as the legal adviser of the public prosecutor on the recent trial of Colonel Crawley, and whether the military authorities recognised the conduct of the Deputy Judge Advocate as a precedent for future adoption. Earl DE GREY and RIPON said that there had been no deviation from precedent in the course followed at the Aldershot court martial. If the trial had taken place before 1860 the same person might have been officiating Judge Advocate before the Court, he might have been the official prosecutor ; and then have been the Judge Advocate Gene ral revising the sentence and advising her Majesty upon it. In 1860 a change was made, and it was directed that the officiating Judge Advocate before the Court and the official prosecutor should be different persons. On the occasion of the Crawley court martial Mr. Head lam, the Judge Advocate General, appointed Col. Pipon to act as officiating Deputy Judge Advocate, and as adviser of the Court. When it be came known that Col. Crawley was about to employ coun sel, it was thought necessary to give Sir A. Horsford similar assistance. After some consideration, Mr. Headlam recom mended that Mr. Denison, the Deputy Judge Advocate, should afford his legal assistance to the prosecutor, and that arrangement was carried out. If Mr. Denison had not discharged that duty, some other counsel must have been selected from Westminster Hall, and attached to Sir Alfred Horsford. Tae Judge Advocate General thought that that was a course for which there was no precedent, and which would be attended with some inconvenience. The reply of the official prosecutor was the speech of counsel, and he was unable to say whether or not it was marked by propriety ; although, looking to Mr. Denison's standing at the bar, he had no doubt that it was quite regular. He thought it a fair question fur consideration whether the Judge Advocate should not be confined to the discharge of judicial func tions, and relievc , d front the official duties which now fell to his share. That was a question well deserving of consi deration, and it was now under the consideration of the Go vernment. But the existing system had been established for a very long time. It was not desirable to deal with it harshly and before they had quite made up their minds what they would substitute for it. And ha was therefore not then prepared testate definitely the views of the Government, The Duke of CAMBRIDGE said that Sir Alfred Hors ford was entirely in the hands of counsel, and what he taitia were the acts of counsel. He believed that every one had given that gallant officer credit for the admirable manner in which he had discharged his duties--a manner of which he (the Duke of Cambridge) entirely approved. He deprecated discussions on military subjects in either House of Parlia ment, because ho believed they were detrimental to the public service. He desired, however, to refer to some ex pressions which had fallen from him on a previous discus sion, and which had given pain to Sir Hugh Rose. He had never intended to bring any charge against that officer. All that he intended to imply by the words, "error of judg ment," which he then used with reference to the conduct of that general, and also of Gen. Mansfield, in regard to the Crawley court martial, was, that he differed in opinion with those gallant officers, not that he thought their con duct deserving of censure. He was glad to take this, the earliest opportunity, of removing a misapprehension which seemed to exist on the subject. Lord CHELMSFORD desired to express the highest opinion of Sir A. Horsford, who had conducted himself in the discharge of his duties at the Crawley court martial with the most perfect impartiality. Of course, in the management of the case he was entirely in the hands of his counsel. It was true that prior to 1860 the Deputy Judge Advocate was also the prosecutor. It was the duty cf the Deputy Judge Advocate to sec the charges were properly framed ; then to take care that the proper witnesses were called; and subsequently to attend the court for the purpose of advising them on points of law. He did not perform the duty of prosecutor in the strict sense of the word, but was present at the trial rather as the adviser of the court. But he (Lord Chelmsford) had never heard that any Deputy Judge Advocate had, until the present case, summoned the witnesses for the defence to his house and cross•examined them. In 1860 it was considered ;nconsistent with the proper discharge of the duties of the deputy judge advocate, as adviser of the court, that he should also act as nominal prosecutor. He was surprised, therefore, that it should have been thought proper to convert the deputy judge advocate, on the occasion of the Crawley trial, into the adviser of the public prosecutor. Either the judge advocate general or the deputy judge advocate ought to have been present to advise the court. But, instead of that, Mr. Head lam appointed Colonel Pipon to act as officiating deputy Judge advocate, and it was no disparagement to that gallant officer to say that he was not quite equal to these functions. The inconvenience of the course adopted was seen when it became necessary to refer to the judge advocate general a uestion which arose during the trial, as to the adraissa ility of certain evidence tendered by the prosecution. This mounted, under the circumstances, to a reference to the very department which was conducting the prosecution. He felt bound to censure the course taken by the prosecutor in his reply. He took UP entirely new ground; he started an entirely new case, which Colonel Crawley had had no means of meeting. Such a course would not have been nos would it h ave b een t o l erate d allowed in any civil cour t ; at this court martial if the depu ty judge advocate had been been in his proper place, acting as the adviser of the court, instead of counsel to the prosecutor. Lard LONGFORD condemned the un seemiyattacks which were made by the public press upon Cot. Crawley up to the time of the trial ; and remarked that they wer e no t dis couraged by persons who were bound by their official posi tion to have done so. Lord WENSLEYDALE made some observations which were entirely inaudible in the gallery. The Esrl of SHAF rESBURY vindicated the course that he had pursued during the last session of Ferliament, in pressing upon the house the necessity of bringing Col. Crawley to trial in England. Had it taken place in India, it would not have led to the satisfactory results which had actually attended it. Lord CRA.NWORTH hoped that this discussion would lead to a great change in the duties and functions of the deputy judge advocate. ...It ought never to be allowed that an officer who had to advise the court should assist in the conduct of the prcsecution, Tho Earl of HARROWBY hoped that the expenses of Col. Crawley's defence would be borne by the nation. The Earl of HARDWICKE thought that, as Colonel Crawley had, contrary to the usual practice, been brought to England for trial, the expenses of his defence, which had been raateria!ly augmented by such a course, should be defrayed by the public. The Duke of CAMBRIDGE said that the course taken in the Crawley case, of bringing the colonel to England for trial, was not to be considered as a precedent. It was neces sary to take that course under the circumstances, and look ing to the public excitement which prevailed. He thought the gallant colonel had been a great gainer by it ; for no acquittal emanating from a tribunal sitting in India would have been received by the public with the respect which had been paid to the decisicn of the Aldershot court. The judge advocate general was entirely responsible for the conduct of court inaJtials. Earl DE GREY and RIPON sail that both he and the Commander•in•Chief entirely accepted the acquittal of Colonel Crawley, and rejoiced at the result of his trial. But when in June last the Government deel te,l that he should be brought to England for trial, tbP gravest charges had been brought against him both by the press and in Parliament. It was necessary thi tile best means should be taken for their investigation. the course which had been taken by Colonel Crawley himself also rendered it expedient that the trial should come off in England. The noble earl then entered at some length into a justification of the course taken by the Government, and said he thought if the court-martial had not been held in England, the suspicions which had taken hold of the public mind would never have been dissipated, and Colonel Crawley would not have had the opportunity of fully vindicating his character which he had enjoyed. All the expenses of Colonel Crawley's defence, which had been entailed upon him by the trial being held in England would be defrayed. While he had been in England he had received Indian pay, and his command money. All the expenses which had not been repaid him were those he had incurred for legal assist ance. There was no precedent for anything of the kiwi, and to do so would lead to inconvenient consequences. The office and the practice of the deputy-advocate were no doubt anomalous, and it was well worth considering whe ther reform could not be effected. The subject then dropped. THE WEST HARTLEPOOL HARBOUR AND RAILWAY COMPANY. The Earl of DONOUGHMORE asked her Majesty's Government, first, whether the case against the late direc tors and auditors of the West Hartlepool Harbour and Railway Company had been laid before her Majesty's Attorney-General, and what decision had been taken on the subject. Second, whether it was the intention of the Government to propose any measure in the present session of Parliament to carry out the recommendations of .the re port of the Select Committee on " Railway Companies, Borrowing Powers" of last session ? The LORD CHANCELLOR said that the case against the directors and auditors of the West Hartlepool Har bour and Railway Company had been laid before the late Attorney-General, Sir William Atherton. He had not, however, been able to give any attention to the case, as he was then suffering from the illness which afterwards led to his retirement from office. The papers had since been laid before the present Attorney-General, and he had given it as his opinion that, under the circumstances a verdict of guilty could not be expected. Under these circumstances it was not thought desirable to institute a Government pro• secution. Earl GRANVILLE was understood to reply to the noble earl's second question ; but his observations were quite in audible in the gallery. The house adjourned at twenty minutes before seven o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented in favour of the repeal of the duty on fire insurance, the Malt Cattle Bill, from Yorkshire praying for the passing of a permissive bill, &c. THE ISTHMUS OF SUEZ CANAL. Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that in consequence of the answer he had received on this subject last evening, he would move a resolution to the effect, that in the opinion of this house no attempt should be made on the part of this country to interfere with the construction of a maritime canal across the Isthmus of Suez by the French Govern ment. GRANT TO THE CAPTORS OF KERTCH AN t) YENIKALL In reply to Sir J, HAY, Lord C. PAGET said that a portion of this grant had been made to Admirals Brown, Stopford, and Grey, which was in accordance with the rules of the service, by which flag officers on a station were entitled to receive the same, although not present at any capture. BRITISH VESSELS PURCHASED BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. In reply to Colonel SYKES, Lord C. PAGET said the Africa, Mohawk, and the En counter had been sold to the Chinese Government and paid for; and he understood from Captain Sherrard Osborn that when the accounts were settled there would not be more than £lOO due by the Chinese Government to this country. lIIGHW,kYS ACT BILL. In reply to Colonel W. PATTEN, Sir G. GREY said that, as he hal already stated, it was intended by Government to introduce this bill ; but a me morial had been recently received on the subject, which was at present under consideration, after which the bill would be brought forward. ADMISSION TO THE TRAINING COLLEGES. Mr. G. HARDY asked the Vice-President of the Com mittee of Council for Education whether, when a student having been admitted to a training college without pass ing, or after failure at the examination for admission by the Inspector, succeeds in the examination of students at the end of each of tw..) successive years of training, completes the prescribed period of probation, and becomes a certificated teacher, he will be counted to the credit of the training college in estimating the grant earned by the institution under the minute of March 21, 1863? Mr, LO WE said that it WAS objectionable to admit appli cantr to these colleges without their having gone through a preliminary examination, and accordingly a test of matri culation had been determined upon as indispensable to such admission. DISMISSAL OF MR. LAY. Mr. LESLIE asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if it were the case that Mr. Lay, after being dismissed by the Chinese Government from the office of Inspector General of Customs, had been appointed by Sir Frederic Bruce to act as Chinese Secretary to the British Legation ? Mr, LAYARD said there had been no information on the subject received by the Government. THE CONVICT TOWNLEY. Mr. MORRITT asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it will be possible for Townley. late convicted of murder, whose sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life, to obtain, by good conduct or other wise, at any future pericd of his life, a licence or ticket of leave to be at large and free from restraint in either this or any other country. Sir G. GREY said the persons whose sentences were for life, whether a commuted sentence or not, were not entitled to any remission of their sentences. (Hear, hear.) THE TUSCALOOZA. Mr, PEACOCK E asked the First Lord of the Treasury what Were the circumstances under which instructions were sent to the Cape of Good Hope, and in consequence of which the Tuscalooza was seized ; and whether the Government would lay upon the table of the house the papers relating to the subject ? Lord PALMERS CON said that by answering the latter part of the question he might save the house a complicated answer in reference to the first. The Government had no objection to lay the papers on the table. HOUSES IN BRIDGE STREET, WESTMINSTER. Sir J. SHELLEY asked the First Commissioner of Works when the houses left standing on the south aide of Bridge-street, Westminster. would be removed, and whether any decision had been arrived at as to the mode in which the vacant ground should be utilised. Mr. COWPER, said that the freehold of four of the houses had been purchased, and he hoped that shortly the leasehold .vould be also purchased, and then would be the time to decide on the appropriation of the site. MALTA. Sir J. HAY asked the Secretary to the Admiralty, if he would lay upon the table of the house the report of Admi ral Sir Frederick Grey and Mr. Whitbread, upon which the Admiralty decided upon the proposed dock at Malta as opposed to the views of Admiral Sir William Martin and Vice Admiral Codrington, and all other official papers and correspondence that bear upon the subject and which was not contained in the papers now upon the table. Lord C. PAGE r repeated the statement he had made on a previous evening as to there having been a report of engi neers made, the substance of which was entered on the books of the Admiralty. There was no report prepared for the house, but, under the circumstances, permission would be given to hon. members to inspect the books of the Ad miralty. CHAIN CABLES. Mr. LAIRD asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have given notice, by public advertisement, that they will accept the private proof certificates of Messrs. Brown, Lennox, and Co. for chain cables used on board ships hired by the transport department of the Admiralty, for the con veyance of troops, in lien of those required from Lloyd's Committee; and, if any such order had been made, if he had any objection to lay the same upon the table of the house. Lord C. PAGET replied in the affirmative. LOAN TO NEW ZEALAND. Mr. A. MILLS asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the New Zealand Legislature had passed an act authorising a loan of three millions sterling for colonial purposes ; and whether there was any foundation for the rumour that this loan is to be guaranteed by the Imperial Government ; and whether any recent correspon dence respecting the war in New Zealand will shortly be laid before Parliament? Mr. C. FORTESCUE said that a loan of £500,000, on the condition that £200,000 should be applied to the liqui dation of the debt due by the Colonial Government. The papers on the subject would be laid on the table in a few days. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. appealed to th e Fi rs t L or d o f th e Treasury E n N ot T topr e e ß ss on committee of supply that evening, as the Malt Duty Bill stood next on the list. The discus sion on the bill last Wednesday was postponed in conse quence of an appea l made by the Chancellor of the Exche quer, who was obliged to leave the house. Several hon. members were anxious to participat e in the discussion, and the greatest anxiety prevailed in the country respecting the uncertainty in which the question was at present placed. Lord PALMERSTON said that in deference to the wishes of hon, members, he would postpone proceeding with the navy estimates that evening, so as not to interfere with the discussion of the bill in question. (Hear, hear.) BASES OF THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE, In reply to Mr. S. FirZOERALD, Lord PALMERSTON said the basis of the conference, THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENIIIO, FEBRUARY 27, 1864. after the statement made by the Austrian and Prussian Go vernments, would be the treaty of 1852 and the integrity of the Danish monarchy. The Government had not yet received the consent of all the Powers interested, but a letter had been received from Copenhagen, in which it was stated that the Government, from local circumstances, wished to postpone their answer, It was not for the Government to suggest the details, but the bases of the negotiations were what he stated. In reply to Lord J. MANNERS, Lord PALMERSTON said that no answer had yet been received from the German Diet as to sending a representative to the conference. There were difficulties in the matter, as one portion of the Diet were in favour of the maintenance of the integrity of the Danish monarchy, and the other went the whole hog in the other direction, THE SLAVE TRADE. On the motion for going into committee of supply, Mr. CAVE asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether herAlajesty's Government intend to carry into exe cution the provisions of the treaty with the United States for the suppression of the slave trade, by stationing vessels off the coast of Cuba. Lord PALMERSTON—I can assure the hon. gentleman that the Government feel as deeply as he can upon the sub ject to which he has drawn attention. And if I may be allowed to speak of individuals, there are no two men in the country who have felt more warmly, or who, within the limits of their sphere of action, have exerted themselves more for the suppression of the slave-trade than the noble lord at the head of the Foreiga Office and myself. (Cheers.) At the same time, when we recollect the great difficulty which was felt in this country to gain a victory over the interested parties who maintained the slave-trade, we must make some allowance for the reluctance which other Governments manifest in adopting the course which we so honourably followed. But great progress has been made; and although it is natural for men to look rather upon that which remains to be done than upon that which has been accomplished, yet, in survey,ng the whole matter, it is right we should look both ways. And when we con sider that the Brazilian slave trade amounted to an expor tation of between 60,000 and 70,000 slaves a year, which implied wretchedness and misery for three times that number, including those who were borne from their homes, those who died on the journey inland, and those who died in crossing the Atlantic, we may say that a very great benefit has been conferred upon the human race by the extinction of the trade to Brazil. (Hear, hear.) There remains the trade to Cuba. Well, that used to be an im portation of 20,000 or more per year—but, according to the last account received from these who report to us, we have reason to think that the actual importation into the island in the year '63 has not exceeded 6,900 or 7,000, which is a greal diminution. That has been owing, in a great degree, to the treaty with the United States. The protection afforded for a great number of years by the American flag led to a great extent of crime. But the President in the handsomest manner agreed—indeed, almost proposed to us —to make a treaty for the mutual right of search, and that has been most valuable for the accomplishment of our ob ject. lam sorry, however, to say that the Government of France has not thought fit to follow the example of the Government of the United States— and that is the more to be regretted, because France was leagued with us in the abolition of slavery, and for a certain time subscribed to a treaty with us for the mutual right of search. But jealousies arose with regard to the national flag, and the treaty was put an end to, Still, France does send cruizers to the coast of Africa—and I hope that the action of the French Govern ment will be directed sincerely to put an end to the slave trade. We know that for a certain time a pretended immigration of free labourers took place into the French colonies, and ob • tamped, I must hope by false recoaamendations, the sanction of the French Government. That, however, was really the slave trade in its purest form, as far as it relates to Africa. Of course,when the wretched Africans arrived at their desti nation, they were not called slaves, they were made appren• tic s for a certain time ; but the French Governnnt, feeling the system to be a reproach, put an end to it, on the condition that we should permit them to export coolies from our Indian possessions, under regulations. I stn bound to say, with regard to the present governor and commander-in-chief in Cuba, that he has behaved in the most honourable manner ; that he has exercised the power which he possesses in every case for the suppression of the slave trade. Still, the power of the governor is not great; and there are laws in Spain which cramp his action in many cases. We have made earnest recommendation to the Government of Spain; snd I hope the Government will feel it due to themselves, and to the honour and good faith of the Spanish Crown, to re move the obstacles which stand in the way of the accom• plishment of the treaty. But we have furnished to ail our cruisers on the station warrants authorising them to exercise the right of search over all the flags which we are entitled to do by treaty. At the same time, it is very natural for those who loots to one part of a question to consider that part all important; and sometimes, if by the eloquence with which they urge their opinions they succeed, they may be doing as much harm as good. Now the late Sir Fowell Buxton, one of the most sincere and active advocates for the abolition of the slave trade that ever lived, and who, to his honour be it spoken, laboured with great success, at ono time took up the notion that trading up the river was the great remedy for slavery, and in a book which he published, in his earnestness for his own purpose, he descried the employ ment of other means absolutely necessary, and which he re presented as having totally failed. The hon. member who had just spoken attaches great value, and deservedly, to the action of cruisers upon the coast of Cuba. No doubt it is very important that cruisers should act upon the coast of Cuba, and the warrants which have been given to them to examine vessels under the American flag will very much assist them in the performance of their duty. But I take leave to say that the value of captures in different places may be stated in these proportions. The most im portant capture that can be made is a slave ship, equipped and prepared, on the coast of Africa, without any negroes on board. That is most important, because it prevents that misery which is entailed by the ember cation of negroes, and throws back upon the chief a commodity for which he has not been paid, and which he has to keep at considerable expense. The next most valuable capture is that of a ship with negroes on the coast of Africa; because they escape the horrors the hon. gentle. man has represented. The third valuable capure is that of a slaver with negroes on board on the coast of Cuba; be• cause they are rescued from the doom to which they were consigned, and are sent back to the coast of Africa, and at all events they escape the horrors of slavery. I can assure the hon. member that we are not at all blind to the import ance of the point upon which he has dwelt, and Sir James Hope, a most active and energetic officer, who has the abolition of slavery entirely at heart, and who possesses a local knowledge of all these circumstances, will, under the instructions of the Admiralty, be quite sure to do everything which a man can do. Upon another point to which the hon. member alluded, it he did not actually mention it, we have applied to the Spanish Government to give to our cruisers acting on the coast of Cubs leave to anchor within the territorial limits of that island, but I am sorry to say they have not yet ageeed to that. It may be that there is some feeling of national jealousy in the matter; there may also be other motives, less honourable to them, actuating those who influence the Government. We shall endeavour to prevail upon them to do this, because that will be a great assistance to our cruisers, inasmuch as the channels through which these slave ships pass are known, and are limited in number; and if we should be able to station our ships on the coast, so as to command those channels, we should have great advantage in the capturing of those slavers. The Spanish Government, as is well known, has been urged over and over again, from every motive of national good faith and honour, to do all they could to abolish the slave trade; they have always told us they had sent orders of the most stringent character to Cuba, but it was a very difficult thing to put those orders into execution, and those difficulties had foiled the intentions of the Government. The Marquis Miranores was most honourably anxious to do all that lay in his power to carry out the treaty. With regard to the papers, they include the reports and correspondence from foreign and distant stations, and some time must always elapse before they can be put in shape to lay before Parlia ment. Those for the year 1863 are in preparation, and I hope will very shortly be laid before Parliament, and I trust they will show a considerable diminution in the slave trade of Cuba. should be withdrawn, after the intimation just made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He believed the right hon. gentleman had brought forward the bill in good faith, and he for one was prepared to accept it in the same spirit, though he did not anticipate that it would be productive of any great advantage. Ultimately the clause was negatived, and the bill passed through committee, The Conveyancers (Ireland) Bill went through commit tee, and the Land Erainage (Provisional Orders) Bill, the Inclosure Bill, and the County Courts (Ireland) Bill, were severally read a second time. Sir J. HAY called attention to the grant made to the captors of Kertch and Yenikali, and the fact that it had been bestowed upon three flag officers who were not serving in the Black Sea fleet at the capture. He also moved for a return of the names of the flag officers to whom the grant had been distributed, with the proportions in which they shared. The return was ordered after some explanations on the subject by Lord C. PAGET and Sir J. PAKINGTON. The house adjourned at 10 minutes to 12 o'clock. Naval and Military Intelligence. THE NAVY. VALETTA, Feb. 22,—Her Majesty 's screw troopship Orontes, 2 guns, Capt, W. H. Hire, arrived here on the night of the 19th inst., on her way to Corfu. She left Spit. head on the Bth, and Gibraltar on the 16th inst., and she is to embark the 6th Regiment at Corfu, and proceed with it direct to the West Indies, calling at Gibraltar. The Ar tillery and Engineers, and the other Line regiments, are to be distributed among the garrisons of Malta and Gibraltar. The Ist battalion, 25th, and 2d battalion, 22d Rgiment, will, it is said, leave Malta to make room for some of the troops from Corfu. The Icarus has arrived with dates from Corfu to the 19th inst. The demolition of the forts at Vido had commenced on that day, and when she left a considerable portion was in ruins. A large quantity of gun-cotton had been obtained from Austria to be used as an experiment in the operations. Mu- Majesty's screw steam frigate Phoebe, 35, Capt. T. D. A. Fortescue, left Malta on the 13th inst. for Beyrout, to relieve the Liffey, 33, Capt. G, Parker, ordered to Malta. The latter vessel is to call at Corfu to embark ordnance stores, before coming here. The Meeanee, 60, Capt. G. Wodehouse, sailed the same afternoon for the Pirrous, with provisions for the squad= under the command of Rear-Admiral Yelverton. On Wednesday and Thursday practice took place at Ports mouth from the guns of the Stork gunboat, under the supe rintendence of Capt. A. Key, C. 8., commanding her Ma jesty's gunnery ship Excellent, with cast iron and steel shot from 68 and 100 pounder guns, the plates varying from 4t to 16ft in length, and from 41in to 6in in thickness. We'd nesday's firing was confined to cast iron shot (service) from the 68 pounder gun, with the usual service charge of 161 b of powder, and the results were those usually obtained. The indents averaged 11in in depth, and the shot in all cases de stroyed themselves by the force of their own impact and the want of cohesive strength in their material, On the follow ing day the more interesting firing took place at the unda maged portions of the same plates with crucible iron shots and crucible and Bessemer steel shots, from both the smooth 111 bore 95 cwt 68 pounder, and the 6 ton (0.22 bore) 100 pounder smooth bore Armstrong. Capt. Harrison, It A., a member of the Iron Plate Committee, was on board to witness the firing. The first shot was fired from the 100 pounder gun, with a Woolwich Laboratory made cast iron shot, and a 251 b charge of powder, against a plate of 41in made by John Brown and Co., of Sheffield, for Mr. Reed's ship, the Lord Warden. This shot made an indent on the plate the diame ter of which was 10in, and its depth 61in, the shot destroy ing itself without penetrating further into the target ship's side. The second shot was made from Price's crucible iron, and was fired at the same plate from the same gun with a similar charge of powder. The diameter of the indent in this instance was also 10in, with a depth of 7in, the shot again being destroyed. The third shot was of steel, fired from the same gun with a 251 b charge against the Bellerophon 6 inch plate. This shot remained sticking in the plate with its outer surface projecting 2in beyond the plate's outer surface, the shot itself being partially broken. Inside the ship a knee was started and two planks were broken. Two steel shots wore next fired from the same gan, with similar charges of powder against Messrs. Charles Cammell's 51-inch plate for the Lord Clyde (one of Mr. Reed's fleet). Both of these stuck in the plate, one projecting 41in from the plate's outer surface, and the other 2 7-10 in. The concluding shot from the 109-pounder was fired at the 6-in plate, and, as in the other instances, partially embedded itself; the other surface being 2 8-10 in outside the plate's outer surface. The 68- pounder gun was now brought into use, and a wrought- iron case-hardened shot fired irons it, with the usual charge of 161 b of powder, against John Brown and Co.'s plate, and produced the usual indent of a cast• iron projectile of this weight of 21in, with a diameter of 9ia. The next shot was of steel, fired also from the 68 -pounder with a 16Ib charge. It was also fired at the same plate. It made an indent of its diameter of bin, with a d pth equal to the plate's thick ness. A subsequent shot shook this last out of its place from the plate overboard. The next steel shot from the 68 struck within tin of the last shot on Messrs. Brown's plate, and remained sticking in the plate 3 7-10iu outside the plate's outer surface, and shaking out the previous shot, The last shot fired struck the lower edge of a plate, and, passing in• board, glanced downwards, and went right through the ship's bottom, letting the water rush in. A supply of shot plugs, with a body of seamen from the gunboat, was imme diately sent on board, by whom the damage was very soon temporarily repaired, and the ship kept afloat. The plates were bolted on the side of the America target ship, and the distance was the usual 200 yards. On the pre vious occasion, when steel-shots were used against a slin Millwall plate, which received a high classification, the penetration then was complete, the shot in one instance entering the plate by a hole fin in diameter, and passing into the ship by a hole 3ft in diameter. On this occasion, on the other hand, no thorough penetration of even the plates alone can be said to have been effected. The 41in and 51in plates of Messrs. Charles Carnwell and Co. and Messrs, J. Brown and Co. were, although of rolled manu facture, perfect in their welding and of superior metal and manufacture. Some time after the firing ceased two tug boats were despatched to the targ,etship in Porchester Creek, to tow her on to the mud, as she appeared to be filling with water, in spite of the precautions taken to the contrary, Her Majesty's ship Ranger, now ready for commission, returned to Woolwich on Tharsday from trial of her speed and machinery down the river to the Maplin Sands. Six runs at full power were made at the Lower Hope, and four runs at half power at Long Reach, the result of which was a fraction under eignt knots at full speed and six knots at half speed. The Ranger was paid out of commission by Commander "Wratislaw, from the West Coast of Africa, on the 10th of November last. By the Union Steam Navigation Company's mail steam ship S mon, which arrived at Plymouth on Wednesday, we learn that the screw steam frigate Narcissus, 39, Capt. J. S. Beckford, flag of Rear-Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker, K.C,8,, was appointed to leave Cape Town on Jan, 21, with his Excellency the Governor, Sir P. Wodehouse, and the Commander of the Forces, Sir P. Douglas, who are proceeding to Graham's Town. The screw steam corvette Scylla, 21, from England, arrived on Dec. 21 at the Cape, and left oa the 20th for China. The steamsloop Ariel. G, was appointed to leave shortly after the 21st of January for the Mozambique Channel. The screw steamsloop Falcon, 17, Commander G. H. Parkin, from Plymouth, Nov. 17, arrived in Siwon's Bay Jan. 16, bound for Australia. The Saxon spoke Jan. 29, near St. Helena, the bark City of Durham ; on Feb. 14, in lat 26 44 N, long 19 11 W, the bark Norfolk, of Yarmouth, for Table Bay ; and on Feb. 19, in lat 39 19 N, long 5 30 W, the ship Dreadnought, of Liverpool, steering south, and the barque Assyrian, from London for Shanghai. There appears every probability that the head quarters of the military forces in South Africa will be removed from Cape Town to the interior, at Graham's Town. Orders have been recently received to prepare accommodation for 500 troops. It is expected that the head quarters of the Royal forces and Cape Mounted Rifles will be at King William's Town. The headquarters and three companies of the 11th Regiment will be at Fort Beaufort. NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION. Although the contest at Woolwich virtually ter minated on Thursday, Messrs. Whitworth and Rigby continued the competition yesterday with their remaining rifles at the long range, with a still better result than they obtained before, as will be seen from the following table Ai; 1,00) Yards. Figure of Merit in Feet. 4th Rifle. sth Rifle. 6th Rifle. Average. Whitworth 147 .. 1.44 1.45 .. 1.83 Rigby It will be observed that Whit worth's shooting was marvellously regular during the last three series of shots. Rigby's figure of merit for his sixth rifle is also very wonderful, being equivalent to hitting a man at 1,000 yards. Had Rigby only shot as well in proportion at the 500 pads range as he did at 1,000 yards, he would have won easily. The corrected returns of the figures of merit of the whole of the weapons employed in the contest will be published as soon as they are received from the Council of the National R fle Association. THE TAXATION OF IRELAND. .Colonel DUNNE called attention to the taxation of Ire land, which he contended was levied unequally and unfairly when the wealth and population of that part of the kingdom were considered. lie also complained that the promises held out at the passing of the Act of Union in respect of the subject of taxation had not been fulfilled, and moved the appointment of a select committee to consider how far Irish taxation was in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Union, or just in reference to the resources of the country. The motion was seconded by Mr. HENNESSY, and die cussed by Sir E. GROGAN, Lord DIINKELLIN, and Mr. LONGFIELD. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER offered no objection to the inquiry proposed, although he was not pre pared, on the responsibility of the Government, to move the appointment of a committee himself, as his doing so might have the effect of raising expectations which would never be realised. He assented to the motion in deference to what appeared to be a general desire on the part of Irish members that the state of taxation in Ireland should be investigated, and it would be his duty to lend his best as sistance in the formation of the committee and with regard to the conduct of the inquiry. The motion was agreed to, and the house went into com mittee of supply, pro forma. MALT FOR CATTLE BILL. This bill was then committed, and Sir E DEICING proposed the addition of a clause, per mitting agriculturists to malt barley, according to the pro visions of the measure, for the consumption of their own stock, without, taking out a maltster's licence. The CHANCELLOR, of the EXCHEQUER declined to accede to the clause, on the ground that it would break in upon a system of law which was recognised, understood. and uniform in a matter of great delicacy and difficulty, and for the sake of a pecuniary advantage—about 2d. a quarter —that was perfectly immaterial. He also looked upon the proposal as the parent of a little brood of other demands that would inevitably follow If this were acceded to, If the clause were agreed to it would defeat the object of the bill, Colonel BARITE LOT recommended that the clause THE ARMY. His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in- Chief will hold a levee at 1 o'clock, on Tuestlay next, the Ist of March. The following appointments were made on Wednesday at the Admiralty : — Lieutenant Sir John Swinburne, to the Hastings—Lieut. Robert F. Scott, to the Implacable— Lieutenant Charles H. Wilkinson, to the Asia—Lieutenant Louis Geneste, to the Excellent--• Lieutenant Edward T. Parsons, to the Conqueror—Lieutenant Henry Burnaby, to the Pembroke—Henry R. J. Pearch, master, to the Cos sack—Frederick A. Codd, assist-paymaster in charge, to the Ranger—E. A. Burniston, assist-paymaster, to the St. George—and William 11. Fox, assist.clerk, to the Ranger The following appointments were made on Thursday :-- John T. Gowlland, master, additional, to the Fisgard— Augustus F. Mugford, master, to the St. George, for the Coastguard—John J. Acheson, staff-surgeon to the Corn. wallis—Charles J. Devonshire, assist-surg, to the Ranger —George A. Browning, second master, additional to the Sutlej—W. J. Sumner, clerk, to the Ajax—W. Wynd, en gineer, to the Decan, coal depot—W Rowley (a), engineer, to the Cumberland, for Sheerness tug—Walter Crichton, assist-engineer, to the Princess Royal—James J. Nibbs, assist-engineer, to the Indus, as supernumerary. Staff Commander Joshua Taylor has been promoted to retired Captain. [ADVERTISEMENT.] Holloway's Pills. Remarkable Recovery.—Mr. Gamis, chemist, Yeovil, writes that a lady residing in that town had for many years been severely suffering from indigestion and liver complaint, for the relief of which her medical man told her he could do nothing further. Unnerved by this announcement she sought sympathy from friends, one of whom recommended Hollo way's pills, which were at once procured. The invalid carefully attending to the accompanying directions, took the pills, and soon perceived a change, which equally asto nished and delighted her. She gradually got quite well. Pains in the side, heaviness in the head, confusion of thought, giddiness, low spirits, and many other sufferings indicative of disordered liver, can be dispelled wit't ease and certainty by this medicine. THE EASTER MONDAY REVIEW, With feelings of no ordinary gratification we learn that the holding of the divisional field day of volunteers upon Farley Heath, on Easter Monday next, has been decided upon. On the 19th instant Lord Truro and Lord Ranelagh again visited the ground, being supplied with sketches on a scale of six inches to the mile, which proved very service able. The good opinion originally formed by Lord Truro was confirmed by further inspection, and we believe that both noble lords returned to London highly impressed with the eligibility of the site. The only doubt which they seemed to entertain was as to the power of the town to supply a sufficiently ample commissariat for the day itself. On this, we think, they need be under no apprehension. There are plenty of spirited caterers in Guild ford, and with the length of notice of the approaching aff►ir, it would be a shame indeed if there should be any shortcoming on such an occasion. It must be remembered, however, that probably some 30,000 strangers will be in Guildford on that day—in other words that the population will be about quintupled. We ven ture to say, therefore, that no amount of prepara tion, however great, will be found to exceed the mag nitude of the requirements. Brighton in the mean time is in a state of bilious jealousy bordering on desperation. Meetings have been convened by the mayor, and all sorts of induce ments offered to the volunteers, to visit Brighton "only once more." The railway company offered to take the troops there and back at ls. 6d. a man. Asubscription was entered into to defray all expenses, headed by the railway company with £lOO, the trustees of the Brighton race-stand £lOO, the newly elected Conservative M.P. £lOO, &e., and it was stated that £l,OOO could be raised without difficulty. All this ebullition, however, comes " too late." Let us profit by their example ; tako time by the forelock; and show our determination, by the most vigorous and united efforts, to give the volun teers a hearty welcome, and abundance of good cheer. The claims of Farley Heath have been brought before every Volunteer in the Kingdom, and to this circumstance, coupled with the kind recommenda tions of Lords Truro, Ranelagh, and Etcho, and Vie natural magnidcence of the site; is to be attributed the great and important event to which we have been referring. We would now suggest that a spe cial meeting of the Corporation should be sum moned without delay to decide upon the measures best to be adopted, and to offer suggestions to the town's people for providing the necessary accom modation and supplies for the Volunteers on Easter Monday next. We should add that according to the information which has reached us, all that remained to render the decision in favour of Farley Heath final, was the consent of the Lard of the Manor. The Earl of Oaslow stands in that position, and when we re member how the interests of his family are bound up with this neighbourhood, and how much he has done for it—we need refer to no more remote in stance than his presentation of the site for the County Hospital—we cannot doubt that he will give his cheerful acquiescence to anything which will promote this great national undertaking.-- West Surrey 7inzes. Metropolitan Board of Works. The annual meeting of the Metropolitan Board of Works was held yesterday, at the office in Spring-gardens—Mr. J. Thwaites in the chair. The financial statement showed the total cash balances in the hands of the treasurer to be £105,858 7s 9d—Govern ment securities, £96,732 8s 7d. PROPOSED REMOVAL OP MIDDLE-ROW, HOLEORN. A. communication was received from Mr. Hopwood, clerk to the Holborn District Board, in reference to the Holborn Valley Improvement Bill, at present deposited for the consideration of Parliament. The subject had been brought under the notice of a special meeting of the Board of Works for the Holborn district, and they had come to the following resolution :—" That this board desire to express an earnest hope that the Metropolitan Board of Works who have presented a petition against the Holborn Valley Im • provement Bill, will, under the locus stancli thereby gained, use their best endet yours and influence to obtain the inser tion of the clauses therein for the removal of the houses on the north side of Middle-row, obstructing the thoroughfare of High Holborn, without which the improvement sought to be effected by the proposed viaduct will be incomplete." Mr. HALL looked upon this as a most essential improve ment, and moved that the subject of this communication be referred to the Streets Committee, The CHAIRMAN said that this was not a matter of detail but of principle, and therefore in the first instance that ought to be affirmed by the board itself. Mr. HALL said the City of London were about spending a large sum on the proposed viaduct, and they intended to open the eastern approach to it; but this great improvement would be incomplete unless it was accompanied by the re moval of one side of Middle-row, Holborn. Were it to re main a constant block would take place there, as at present. The CHAIRMAN said the better course for Mr. Hall to pursue would be to give notice of motion, and then the whole subject could be brought properly before them. After some further discussion, Mr. "HALL said he would adopt the suggestion of the Chairman, and would then give notice to bring the entire subject before the board on a future occasion. This was done, and the subject for the present dropped. SOUTHWARK PARK. The Solicitor announced that the bill promoted by this board for the formation of a park for the recreation of the inhabitants of Southwark had been read a first time by the House of Commons, and ho had no doubt that the bill would pass through all irs stages without opposition. FINSB URY PARK. A report was brought up from the Streets Committee re commending for approval a deed of security to the Clergy Mutual Assurance Society for a loan of £50,000 for the pur poses of the Finsbury Park Act. THE SALARIES OP THE OFFICERS. A report was brought up from the Streets Committee re commending an advance in the salaries of some of the officers of the board. This gave rise to some discussion, but eventually it was resolved that an advertisement be issued inviting applications for the appointment of accountant to the board, and that the salary be £6OO per annum ; that the salary of the solicitor be fixed at £1,250 a year; and that an addition of £2OO per annum be made to the salary of the clerk of the board. The other business was of a routine character, after the disposal of which the board adjourned at a late hour. Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against Imprisonment or seizure of their goods, and an entire release from all debts and liabilities without publicity, by application to Messrs. Marshall, solicitors of the Court of Bankruptcy, Charges under £5 payable by easy instalments. Offices— (established 1830),12, Hatton-garden. City branch-6, Moor gate-street, Bank.—ADVT. ADVERTISEMENT.]—Avoid medicines: they always aggra vate chronic complaints, but Du Barry's Delicious Health Restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, which saves fifty times its cost in other remedies, invariably cures them, restoring perfect digestion, strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, refreshing sleep, functional regularity, and energy to the most disordered or enfeebled. We extract a few out of 60,000 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216 of the Marchioness de Brehan, Paris, of a Jiver complaint, wasting away for seven years, debility, with a nervous palpitation all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, the most intolerable nervous agitation, and dreadfully low spirited.—Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Decies, Lord Lieut. of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 49,832. "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, fiatuleir.:y, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jolly." —Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange. meat, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure No. 54,816. The Rev. Jas, T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, "of indigestion and torpi dity of the liver, which had resiste i all medical treatment." In tins. 1 lb., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d ; Slb., lls. ; 121 b., 223. ; .41b 40s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London; also Fortnum and Mason ; and all Grocers and Chemists in very town of the United Kingdom. SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. HERALD.—Lord Colville fulfilled an honourable, though, perhaps, not a very popular task. when he called the attention of the House of Lords to the doubtful part taken by the Deputy Judge Advocate General in the prosecution of Coloneral Crawley. The ordinary acceptation of the duties of that official is, oh the Whole ) Very similar tothat adopted by Lord Chelmsford. He is not regarded as the prosecutor, but as the arbitrator between contend ing parties ; he has to look after the interests of both the prosecution and the defence, and as Lord Chelmsford *ell aptly remarked, ",to see fair play done to both parties!' That, coo *enters to say, is the general impression of the role of the Deputy J udge Advocate General. But what was the posi tion of the gentleman appointed to fulfil his duties at the late court martial ? He appeared virtually as counsel for the prosecution; he put the questions into the mouth of the prosecutor ; he replied to the defence, and yet" he was a permanent officer of that department which had to revise the proceedings before they were submitted to the Queen." Every body is willing to admit the ability with which the prosecution was conducted. It savoured almost of the sharpness of Old Bailey practice. The prosecu• tion stood on vantage-ground, and availed itself to the fullest extent of its position, and Lord Colville by no means overstated the case when he said that the reply to the defence put into the mouth of the public prosecutor "dealt with subjects that were utterly irrelevant to the subject before the Court,and matters which the prisoner wasdebarred from intro ducing into his defence were, on the other hand, un • fairly used against him by the Deputy Judge Advo cate." It was, in fact, impossible to peruse the pro ceedings of the court martial without feeling that this confusion of the duties of Deputy Judge Advo cate General with those of prosecutor materially damaged the defence, and that Colonel Crawley was very like to suffer from it. We do not, any more than Lord Colville, make any charge against Sir A. Horsford, who undoubtedly conducted the prosecution with propriety and discretion. But we think there can hardly be a doubt that the principle of allowing a Deputy Judge Advocate to advise the prosecutor is most unfair upon the defence, and we are glad to learn from the Duke of Cambridge that it is not likely to be adopted as a precedent. The Crawley court martial is now a thing of the past, but it is to be hoped its lessons will remain ; and undoubtedly the chief lesson to be derived from it is the inexpediency and the injustice of prejudging. In this instance the authorities acted harshly. They adopted a prejudice, and they endeavoured to sub stantiate it. They failed, but they were either too deeply committed or too timid to admit their error ; and Colonel Crawley, after having been exposed to the cruellest aspersions and to such obloquy as has rarely befallen " an officer and gentleman" in these days, is ordered back to India as peremptorily and unceremoniously as if he had been acquitted by a legal flaw, instead of having been thoroughly ab-. solved by a jury of his peers. The legal depart ment of the army could in no way better establish its claim to public respect than in devising some readier and less anomalous mode of trying military offences than the present blundering and unsatis factory system of court menials, POST.—As it is an ill wind that blows nobody good, so we need not be surprised should there be one quarter of the Continent to which the unsettled state of Europe during the last twelve months had proved an unmitigated benefit. While Russia, and France, and Austria have been absorbed in their own concerns, or the concerns of more westerly nations, the empire of Turkey has enjoyed a little peace and quiet, and has been able to some extent to shake off that incubus of intervention which of late years had pressed so heavily on her energies. The results of this brief re spite, which, let us hope, may now become perpetual, are visible in all departs of the Government, and in the mate rial and moral progress of the entire nation. We required, indeed, no conjuror to tell us that efforts at self-improve ment, whether in nations or individuals, to be successful, must be spontaneous. Yet this obvious truth seems to have been partially ignored in all the dealings which have taken place between the Western Powers and the Porte. And we can only trust that the phenomena and statistics of the Turkish empire at the present moment may open the eyes of statesmen for the future. The Sultan, who from the first day of his accession hasgiven constant proofs of his vigour, his patriotism, and his real sympathy with progress, had laboured hard in thisgood work, and inan astonishingly short space of time has accomplished the moat arduous re forms. To begin with the finances of the empire : many Englishmen perhaps will not believe, what is nevertheless quite true, that the Sultan's Government has succeeded at last in calling in the last of the caimes, and that at this moment not a square inch of paper money is in circulation in Turkey. Could those Governments which affect to look down on Turkey with so great an air of superiority—could Austria, or could Russia—say as much? The revenue is rising daily, and commerce and domestic industry are steadily extending themselves. The Sultan indeed has devoted his special attention to the development of agricul ture, and the Turkish exports are now more than ten times as great as they were three years ago. It is, however, to the growth of cotton that he has given the more particular care ; and the quantity of seed which Turkey, with the help of the Cotton Supply Association, has purchased from America, in order to be distributed among the native far mers, gives us good promise that the revenue next year from this source alone will be considerable. Secondly, and in close connection with the subject of nationa wealth, are the praiseworthy efforts of the Ottoman Govern ment to °instruct roads and railways throughout their vast dominions, and the liberality with which concessions have been made to foreign companies for the purpose of attract ing capital to a region which promises, under that magi cian's wand, to burst into the most luxuriant prosperity. Thus we see the Sultan is doing all that in him lies to build up the regeneration of Turkey on the solid ground of mate rial well-being. A healthy revenue, a rapidly developing native industry, both in commerce and agriculture, and the new lines of communication which promise ere long to knit together the extremities of the empire with its centre, testify to the success of his exertions reveal the possibilities of the future. Rome was not built in a day, and the reform party in Turkey has an uphill battle to fight. But because this ancient empire does not at a single stride become exactly what we are ourselves, must Englishmen shut their eyes to the gigantic strides which she has taken within the last 20 years, or withhold their sympathy from men struggling in as noble a cause as can easily be imagined, combining, as it does, within itself the most devoted patriotism with the most zealous support of all those arts and sciences which constitute material civilisation P Shocking Loss of the Bark Eliza Ann, Seven of her Crew Starved to Death. Yesterday the following was received by Captain Halsted, R.N., secretary of Lloyd's, from her Majesty's Consul at New York, reporting the loss of the British barque Eliza Ann, of Plymouth, and the shocking fate of several of her crew by starvation and exposure. " British Consulate, NdW York, Feb. 8, 1864. " Sir, —I have the honour to transmit herewith, enclosed for the information of the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, a copy of a written report made to me by Richard Kearney, master of the barque Eliza Ann, of Ply mouth, detailing the circumstances of the loss and abandon ment of that vessel at sea, and of the rescue of a portion of the crew by the steamship Edinburgh, of Liverpool, Thomas Fleetwood Roskell, master. This would appear to have been a case of peculiar hardship, and great credit is due to the master of the Edinburgh for his humane treatment of the shipwrecked crew after their resells. Richard S. Thompson, chief officer of the steamer, would appear likewise to have acted in a praiseworthy manner, he having commanded the boat which took the survivors from the wreck. The amount of subsistence money which would be due, about £5 158., has been offered by me to Capt. Roskell, but refused. Six of the crew were so much disabled, owing to their exposure upon the wreck, that it has been necessary to send them direct to the hospital at public expense, and the master and two mates are being subsisted by me until an opportunity offers to send them home. Seven of the Eliza Ann's crew perished upon the wreck from starvation and thirst, and one on board the steamer after their rescue. It has been im possible to obtain with certainty the names of these unfor tunate men, as all the vessel's papers, log books, &c., have been lost, but the master's report gives them so far as pos sible —I have the honour, &c., E. M. ARCHIBALD. "The Secretary Marine Department Board of Trade," " Copy of Enclosure, dated Now York, Jan. 6. " The Eliza Ann sailed the 31 January, 1864, with a cargo of timber. Experienced a succession of terrific gales and sea, which swept the decks, and the vessel became water logged, notwithstanding that every effort was made to keep her clear. It was impossible to secure any provisions ex cept a barrel of potatoes, and we were entirely without water at the same time. All the effects of the crew and myself, along with the ship's papers, were lost; and for many days we were upon the point of starvation, and without any water except such as was caught by the rigging in passing showers. We all suffered fearfully, and for almost a week were abso lutely without food. Seven of the seamen died upon the wreck from exposure and starvation. Their names I am unable to state with certainty, but believe them to be as follows :—Jacob Halsin, Francis Hans, Augustus Brown, Peter Coffee, Charles Pingfoot, Francis Veturan, and John Branham, mostly Germans. Upon the 25th ult., the Edin burgh, Thomas Fleetwood Roskell master, of Liverpool, fell in with the wreck and took off the survivors (ten in all). While on board the ship Patrick Ryan, a seaman, died from the effects of the exposure to which he had been subjected. We were all treated with great kindness on board the Edin burgh, and upon this day the remaining nine were landed here." The ship was insured at Lloyd's. THE PILATE OF NATIONS.—The Pays calls Eng land the Pontius Pilate of Politics, because our only voca tion is now to wash our hands of others' guilt while acquiescing in its results. There is something in the taunt. Pontius Pilate was well-meaning, ;but weak, and had a dreadful fear of being " Cmsar's" foe ; and that is very much the state of mind of our own Government.—Spectator. COUNTRY MARKETS• ________i- LIVERPOOL—FRIDAY. There was a limited attendance of the town and country trade to-day, and but little inquiry. lied wheat suffer ed a decline of ld ; white Dantzic, with more pressure to sell, 3d per cental on the week. Flour was equ all y dull, and 6d lower in price. Oats and oatmeal unal tered. EgYPtian beans very dull, at the rates of Tuesday last. There via? very little doing in Indian corn, and prices were lully 30, per qr lower on the week. WAKEFFIELD—FRIDAY. Only a small business was done in wheat to day, sli d the prices of last Friday generally made. Barley meet 1 steady sale at barely former prices. Other articles WWI tained late rates. STAMFORD—FRIDAY. White wheat, 42s to 44s ; red, 38 s to 41s p er '36 done' Barley, malting, 33a to 35s ; grinding, 29s to 329 per 9r• Oats, 18s to 22s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 40s to Pe r qr. ; new, 34s to 365. LINCOLN—FRIDAY. White wheat new, 42s to 48s ' Barley, grinding.. 305 to 33s Red do. 36s to 41s Oats, old, ........13323s to 26.1 Old white —s to —s New do .......... to 2'2s Red do. —s to — 8 8ean5............ 40s to 4 .2 a Barley, malting 348 to 368 Beans , new...... 348 to 360 CORK—FRIDAY. The following were the quotations this morning :---fte li,g d wheat, 8s Od to 8s 10d ; white 8s Od to Os 8d , barleY, 6d to 8s Od ; oats, 4s 10d to '6B 2d ; black do., 4s 4d to 5s 3d. BRISTOL SUGAR—FRIDAY. The raw sugar market exhibits a steady b u siness doing this week, and prices are fully 6d per cwt. hig h er than lag week. Refine I goods sell freely, a t full prices t o 6d at vance. The demand for ruin is good :or Deraeranol/2 and prices unchanged. COAL MARKET. Mos of Coal per Ton at tile close of the market. d. ®, (1. Bates'sWest Hartley ..14 0 Bower's West Hartley.l4 9 liyass's Bebside West Hartley ...14 9 Carr's Hartley. ..14 9 Lambert's West Hart- ley 14 6 Davison's West Hart ley Wylam 17 0 Cowpen Hartley 14 9 West Hartley 14 9 alker Primrose 12 0 Eden Main ..17 3 ranileld Moor Butes..ls 0 Ships at market Walls End. .. 1 9 0 Haswell . • ... Q 9 East Hartlepool ..... 17 South Hartlepool- .• • i s 6 Trimd on Hartlepool.... 6 3 Tr imd on Thornley 18 Kelloe Eieugh Bail ........... 1 8 3 South Kelloe. ........... 6 Tunstall ........... 3 16 6 Riddell ............. 16 Harton ............. . 16 3 0 Wharncliffe ....... ... is Cassop ............ . ...15 0 Hartlepool • ..... 82 ; sold, 64. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. TRAFFIC RECEIPTS FOR THE WEEI ( ' Miles Opened. Rem Railways. 1864. Belfast and N. Counties I3G Belfast and County Down 49 Blyth and Tyne . 28 Bristol and Exeter l2ll Caledonian Cockermouth & Workington Bi Cork and Bandon 2O Cork, Blackrock, &Passage... Cork and Youghal ...... Cornwall Deeside Dublin & Belfast Junction Dublin and Drogheda Dublin and Meith Dub. & Wicklow and Wextd Edinburgh and Glasgow Furness, &•3 Glasgow & South-Western Gt. Eastern,Nrik.,&E.Union 32 6 1 651 17 63 75 91} 169* 50 198 663 Great Northern 353 Great North of Scotland 5B t..N orthn. & Westn. (Irel.) 7ll rit.Southn. & Westn.(lrlnd.) 373/ Great Western 1056/ Inverness & Aberdeen Juno Inverness & Perth Junction Irish North-Western Lancashire & Yorkshire 86i 1191 145 402 Limerick and Ennis... 24} ---•- - Limerick and Foynes 266 Llanelly 46f Londen & North-Western London and Blackwall sf London & South-Western Loud. Brighton, &S. Coast 261 London, Chatham, & Dover 72 Do. Metropolitan Extension 10 3 / 4 Loud., Tilbury, & Southend Man.,Sheilield,& Lincolnsh 239,t Manch. S.Jun.&Altrincham clf Haryport and Carlisle Metropolitan Midland (incl. N.-Western).. 31 641 _.eland (incl. IN.- v, , nidland Gt.Westn. of Irind 259 i Monkland 7l noninouthsh. Rail. & Canal 44 North British, Edin., Perth and Dundee N-Eastern and Stock. & Darl 1095 North London 9 North Staffordshire 2M Oswestry and Newton... 5O Rhymney l9/ St. Helen's Canal & Railway 52 Scottish Central Scottish North-Eastern l3B Somerset and Dorset 66 South Devon South-Eastern 306 Tail' Vale Ulster 1051 Vale of Clwyd. Vale of Neath - - Waterford and Kilkenny 3l Waterford and Limerick 77 West Cornwall W.ll artlepool Ilarbr.&RaiL 52 W'haven,Cleator,& Egrmnt 7 Whitehaven Junction l3 Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35 FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. 1863. Antwerp and Rotterdam 52 Austrian B2B Belgian Eastern Junction Bombay, Baroda, & Ceti. India Buffalo and Lake Huron Detroit and Milwaukie Dutch Rhenish Eastern Bengal Eastern of France East Indian Grand Trunk of Canada Great Indian Peninsula Great Luxembourg . ... lili £45 Great Southern of .... Great Western of Canada.... Madras 261 185 161 189 104 110 135 936} 48i 169} 5) 198 64i 351 711 329 10324 861 134 145 3951 1179,t 441 61 421 2391 636 259/ 71/ Madrid, Saragossa &Aiicant 650 Northern of Canada 94 Northern of France 697 Norwegian Trunk Ottoman .. 48} 4104 10794 9 254 Paris, Lyons, & Dlediterrn 1805 Paris and Orleans 1614 Pernambuco 77i Royal Danish 69 138 394 751 305 481 1713 1494 . 03 11.44 7 1 851 50,914 4 7'g76 3,149 ,916 8,40 7 ' 8 69 1,109 9 24 983 00 5 2,070 2.20/ 4,468 4 746 4,950 4.36 641 .98 2.975 *s+ 15,493 4 43 5,738 3 '016 2,32 1 'ist 141 1. 529 2,384 345 8 00 930 - ' 7 93 800 3.4 35 4,079 5.5 676 9 33 1,05 3 801 1,034 Sai . abre and Meuse 6B South Austrian .. 1527 Southern of France 770 Victorian 196 Welland `West Flanders 75 W. and N.W. of France I 69 1 1,168 -. 764 30, 2 0 1 1 17 314 1. 772 3,066 „; 3 ; 4 2,433 , 809 4,730 - 3-- - , 7°3 52,1 34 53 0,90 1 10,0 42 ;9 55 3 18, -18 '1, 3 71 1 1 3 10,324799 4 ' 5 701 1 09 13,399 '1703 5243 19 02/ 16,101 3,784 A g 21 4 , 6 549 459 624. 321 688 387 1 20'288 160,679 1,288 03404,;, 4 4 , 900 . 577 220! * 0 29 9 FA. 597 1,022 34.17 1 36.709 1468 680 196 Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. 20' gar. kustralia and Mauritius, via S ou th am pton. ....... gar. via Marseilles ......... Brazil and Cape Verds, by British paOzet. ..... • 2 8. • Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. „„.0. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton-:eb. via Marseilles .• .... ...._ 2 6 * Falkland Islands .... Gibraltar, via Southampton ................. :/tiar3,. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southanipton..pb,Kl,. . via Marseilles.• • fob. .!'. India (Bombay), via Southampton ............ gar. via Marseilles ............... mar. ~,- Portuga 1.... . . Kalta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton •• ~F r : , via Marseilles ..... ...Ina' Newfoundland ........ . .................... , Feb,2s Oporto and Vigo .. . ........ • . .. X .0 - U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet,k -o b. 26 ' by U.S. pile- k;t . ...- e 10. by Canadian P ack . ga r ' it, W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe ........ . Ma r ' 29. Bahamas, via New York ..................... .feb. .. • • • 29. Mexico. . All parts of West Indies, including Chili, x California. and British Columbia. .......... THE EDINBURGH AND DUBLIN 13'•"° Via' —.---- QUESTION.—The Scotsman says:' — F re b e e ed . l) : t e .l 4 ; burgheurt has Dublin dispute on the right of et C sha.ocenho.trash a n s . been settled by the Privy Council declaring jio/1 municipality hicaipnadl,ittyheehEarlleehmaavne,p; jnocuedrnenaciestialytoe:r_.na,t,e,rlY;oeciaercsit: arrived is a t t neither city is to have precedence. 111 have right of pre-audience." ----- ------ Births. .. 0, o n ar BEAUMONT.—On the 25th inst. , at Setbrington goabot, York, the wife of Captain Godfrey Wentworth 1366 Scots Fusilier Guards, of a BOIL ,h e t ° PETRE.—On the 22d inst., at 66, Westbourne-terra f Hon. Mrs. Henry Petre, of a daughter. w ife Of SHUTE.—On the 24th inst., at 28, Rutland -gate, tile , Colonel C. Cameron Shute, of a daughter. the w ife Cl 4 STEPRENSON.--On the 24th inst , at PutneY, Robert Stephenson, Esq., C.E ~ of a daughter' Marriages. philip L o s e r t l i; LELE:ToIIf 0 15 S0 , NlLOBOMea.u—vooinr.theerr2lll iiinsint.9 Harriet, only daughter of Joseph itosenbglBol(ll3l,46(l' °f 15, Devonshire-street, Bishopsgate. at T ea' rio" HuNTEit—BLomFIELD.—On the 25th inst I-- of w Ch ur ch, Cl a pham, Zaccheus J oel hunter, late tham, to Margaret Maria Blomfield, of p D e aths. Rs, Th os. ALLEN.—On the 25th inst. , a t St. Leonards-oa" Allan, Esq., of Macclesfield, aged 54. ttlieW Pio • Vic ' A l Dicx.—On the 24th inst., at Chelsea, Ma aged 69. .. A Derelf DOREY.—Oa the 26th inst , at Camberwell, giss formerly of Chaseside, infield, aged 84. „Tic' 00.05 Gow.—On the 24th inst., at Shoreham, Stis selL ' '— Esq., aged 69. a 99 l ' i"t e . ti OLIVIER.—On the 21st inst.. suddenly, at TorcPwiits, ag 6 C 9 0 . 10nel Henry Stephen Olivier,sogferdo3t:te; nes.,:des,..lotarnlcect: ROBERTS.--011 the 23d inst., at 7. ,-;-• Llewelyn Lloyd Roberts, Esq,, SELF.—On the 26th inst., at 8, Regent's-Plir Self, Esq., aged 60. 112 ' rrintod and Ft'.aeged d 9 o! No. 112, Strand, Printer, t he VIE - ;e of London 'ldiesex.—Saturday, Februry' 27. Strand, al the Precinct of 3o°l' Dli